Eleven years ago, Ursula Kaiser was told she had three months to live. Today she is … CANCER-FREE

Ursula Kaiser sits in her Naples condominium reflecting on how her decision to battle cancer using alternative treatments has left her cancer-free. VANDY MAJOR/ FLORIDA WEEKLY Ursula Kaiser sits in her Naples condominium reflecting on how her decision to battle cancer using alternative treatments has left her cancer-free. VANDY MAJOR/ FLORIDA WEEKLY Until the night the bleeding started, Ursula Kaiser assumed (and indeed was told by her doctors) that she was in perfect health.

After all, at the age of 53, she was scrupulous about her diet (she was a vegetarian) and her exercise regime (she was a highly competitive tennis player and an accomplished allaround athlete). She also received regular medical checkups — none of which had turned up signs of any problems. But then, the bleeding came, in the middle of the night, and Ms. Kaiser, terrified and alone, knew that something was wrong. Very wrong.

“I thought I was dying that night,” says Ms. Kaiser, recalling that horrific episode some 11 years ago. “I had clots coming out of my body. I passed 50 to 60 clots from my vagina. I lost so much blood that I thought it was the end. I really did. I believed that I was dying. I had had physicals, but they never caught a thing. I had no idea until that night when the bleeding started that there was anything at all wrong with me.” The next day, Ms. Kaiser rushed to her gynecologist in Chicago, where she lived at the time. The doctor informed her that she probably had an ovarian cyst — a relatively benign problem that could be corrected by surgery.

Ursula Kaiser is cancer-free and living an even more vigorous lifestyle that she pursued prior to her illness. VANDY MAJOR/ FLORIDA WEEKLY Ursula Kaiser is cancer-free and living an even more vigorous lifestyle that she pursued prior to her illness. VANDY MAJOR/ FLORIDA WEEKLY She had the surgery, but the problem turned out to be anything but minor. Ms. Kaiser had advanced ovarian and uterine cancers that had spread to her lymphatic system. The prognosis was dire. At one point, she was told she had but three months to live.

Ms. Kaiser, who now lives in Naples, faced a life-or-death choice: Take the doctor’s advice and pursue a regimen of chemotherapy and radiation treatments, or plot her own course and pursue alternative therapies.

Ursula Kaiser has enjoyed an active, busy lifestyle since she beat cancer more than 11 years ago. Ursula Kaiser has enjoyed an active, busy lifestyle since she beat cancer more than 11 years ago. Widowed and without children, she knew the choice was hers alone to make.

She decided to forgo standard medical practices and pursue the alternative route. With no time to spare, she embarked on a frantic quest for something — anything — that could save her life.

Now, more than a decade later, Ms. Kaiser — lithe and looking far younger (even without makeup) than her 64 years — sits in her open and airy condominium on a marvelously sunny day and reflects on how that decision led to this current circumstance. She is cancer-free and living an even more vigorous and fulfilling lifestyle than she pursued prior to her illness.

Moreover, she is now on a mission to educate the public on ways to confront — and, she hopes, defeat — cancer.

“I want people to know that if you have cancer it isn’t automatically a death sentence,” she says. “I know that for a fact.”